Gaza Ceasefire Under Strain as Airstrikes Continue and Hamas Disarmament Talks Stall

Israeli airstrikes killed at least four Palestinians in Gaza on Monday, deepening concerns over the fragility of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal that has struggled to hold since taking effect last October. The strikes hit a group of men near a school in Deir al-Balah, killing three, while a separate attack on a Gaza City café claimed one more life and left another person injured. The Israeli military offered no comment on either incident.

At Al-Aqsa Hospital, grieving relatives gathered to mourn the victims, with one woman voicing the frustration felt across the territory. "This isn't a truce; it's a trap for our young men," she said, mourning daily losses that have continued despite the supposed pause in hostilities.

Since the ceasefire began, over 750 Palestinians have been killed in ongoing Israeli strikes, while four Israeli soldiers have lost their lives to militant attacks. Both Israel and Hamas continue to accuse each other of violating the terms of the agreement. Meanwhile, Israeli troops remain in control of a large depopulated buffer zone covering more than half of Gaza, with Palestinian civilians confined to a narrow coastal strip. Palestinians allege that Israeli forces have been gradually shifting boundary markers westward — a claim Israel denies.

Diplomatic efforts to salvage the deal are underway in Cairo, where Hamas and other Palestinian factions have been meeting since Saturday with mediators from Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar. The central sticking point remains Hamas disarmament. Under the framework proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, Hamas would be required to gradually lay down its weapons over eight months. Hamas has insisted that disarmament discussions can only begin after Israel fully honors the first phase of the October agreement, including a complete halt to all military operations.

Israeli military officials have warned they are prepared to resume full-scale combat if Hamas refuses to comply with disarmament requirements. The Gaza conflict originally erupted on October 7, 2023, when a Hamas-led assault killed approximately 1,200 Israelis. The subsequent two-year Israeli military campaign claimed more than 72,000 Palestinian lives and left Gaza largely in ruins.